Tag: Kyushu Island

Today, December Welcomes us…. Well actually on our side of the world, it was yesterday we said farewell to Autumn ;) And even after 11 months of being back over the big blue, its still crazy for me to put myself in the right time zone…

Japan makes my heart thumpa thump in the Fall…. Every shade of garnet and amber from the maples, the cooler air that is so damn welcome after a relentless Summer, and the introduction to the years Holiday Season, Im always in my element!! I know some of ya’ll feel me…

Takeo Japan, well Hello to you. A co-worker of Hubby’s had shown him some photos of the foliage from a park in this cute town.. Mifuneyama Ruken. Nestled on the side of a mountain, you enter through a large Tori Gate and are greeted with maples dating well over 100 years old wrapped around a small pond, completely picturesque. Trails weave up through raining leaves to open view points of the whole garden, with small stops of shrines along the way where you can pray and offer thanks… We met an artist painting small pictures of leaves and mice and persimmons and shared a conversation of broken English and Japanese, while he sat along side a man baking pastries… The park was crowded, yet it didn’t stop the kids from climbing up on rocks or throwing leaves in the air, and even had many littles around us follow there play <3

I feel like this is a place we will visit again in the Spring when the Cherry Blossom tree are in bloom… It was just magical. I hope all of you here in Kyushu are enjoying this change of Mother Nature!

We had been looking forward to this for what seemed like all Summer… Apple Picking!! I know from living in Japan before, that in Autumn a Pumpkin Patch is no-where to be found, however fruit farms are spread out all over Kyushu Island, and each Season brings new delicious fruits and veggies for the picking!

So a couple of weeks ago we took a little road trip…. It was about a 2 hour drive up to Maryyasuringo Orchards, but by golly it was a gorgeous journey… Rolling hills and mountains completely fluffy with Evergreens, Orchards tucked in neatly, with old Japanese homes spread across the newly harvested rice patty fields. I never get tired of driving in this part of Japan… Everywhere we go is just breath taking in its own individual way…

The kids are always up for these trips! They get so excited about the countryside, the roads less traveled… They love to pull over and get out the car, take it all in… Always staring out the windows with wide eyes yelling out “look over there Mom!!” Its so great…

Anyway, about the Orchard ;) First I must share that while researching where to go (and I ended up at the same one a Japanese friend of mine shared with me!!) I learned that almost all of the picking farms here in the area are Organic! They sell only to the prefecture and their produce is exceptionally fresh and amazing! The apples we picked were some of the best I have EVER had… We ended up coming home with 2 huge bags of them! We had so many since the girls wouldn’t stop pulling them off the trees! The Farm stands were adorable, with baked goods and little photo stops. There is No English, however they will call a translator to help you with any questions (we learned this since they assumed I didn’t understand the pricing! haha) But the farmers were soooooo nice and helpful! There are many different stops so you have a choice of what part of the orchard you would like to pick..

Autumn is so so so welcome for us, and this October has been beautiful… Cant wait to share some photos of the foliage soon!!

Hmmm… what to do on a super hot July Day in Japan??? Escape to the woods….

Andrew and I have a list of mountains we want to hike here on Kyushu… But many of them are a bit of a dive.. Mount Kurokiami however is only 30 minutes from our house, and one of the many mountains we saw on our last trip to Arita! Read More

I swear, each beach we seem to discover here in Japan is just as, if not more, beautiful then the last… Or maybe its just that we visit them at different times of the day, under different phases of the moon… Or the feeling and present state of mind we are in are unique onto themselves… Either way, every coastline we visit here in Japan can take you away, can reset your mind and energy… Shirahama did just that… Read More